Odermatt prevents sensational victory in snow chaos

Marco Odermatt made an impressive return to winning ways on Saturday in the giant slalom at the World Cup in Val-d'Isère, France. In doing so, he prevented a sensational Austrian victory.

14 December 2024

From: never

Heavy snowfall, poor visibility and one of the toughest slopes in the World Cup: the giant slalom in Val-d'Isère was only for the hardiest. Marco Odermatt couldn't have chosen a better time to dispel any doubts about his abilities in his signature discipline. Against wind and weather, the Swiss stormed to his 39th World Cup victory and thus ended his mini-crisis after three consecutive failures across the season.

Odermatt went into the final with a lead of 2,49 seconds over the Austrian surprise man Patrick Feurstein, who had gained a total of 24 places due to the rapidly deteriorating conditions. In the end, the half-time leader saved eight hundredths of a second over the finish line.

Marco Odermatt fights his way through the snow. © ANSA / GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO

“You actually have to be a ruthless guy to do that. Your instinct always wants to pull you back, but you have to fight against it and chase down the mountain – which is actually madness,” Feurstein said in an interview with ORF this particular challenge perfectly. Feurstein's compatriot Stefan Brennsteiner (+0,12) completed the podium.

Odermatt's relief

After the celebrations in the finish area, Odermatt could see how important the triumph was for him. “Of course, I am very relieved after these two not so good giant slaloms,” he emphasized in ORF. "To get it down like that in such a difficult race and with little self-confidence... Luck was on my side, that's for sure. But you need that sometimes."

“Luck was on my side.” Marco Odermatt

Despite the recent setbacks, Odermatt never stopped to think. "Sometimes it's good to scale back your self-image a little. If you look at the last two years, with 13 wins each season, that's anything but normal. It brings you back to reality for a short time," he explained.

Zingerle benefits – Pinheiro Braathen disappointed

Despite Alex Vinatzer's failure, Hannes Zingerle, a South Tyrolean, was represented in the decision. The 29-year-old was the fifth runner on the course in the final after finishing 26th in the first round. However, he drifted too far on some turns and the South Tyrolean ultimately lacked the necessary speed, especially in the lower section. Zingerle initially fell behind, but then benefited from a few mistakes and slipped to 24th place. Luca de Alprandini (6th/+0,39) became the best Azzurro in the French Alps. Giovanni Borsotti also collected important points (13th/+0,99).

Hannes Zingerle was the only South Tyrolean in the decision. © ANSA / GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO

A week ago, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrated the first World Cup podium in the history of the Brazilian association in Beaver Creek, but six days later he was eliminated in the second round. Afterwards, the Norwegian-born athlete was visibly dejected. "That's how skiing is, it's brutal," he said in ORF his performance. "There are huge contrasts. One day you can have the coolest day of your life and the next it's a complete failure. Today was an example of that. I'm very disappointed. It was a really difficult race, I wasn't mentally strong enough."